My Goldie is treated with Stronghold every 4 weeks, but somehow (and I'm not sure how) she managed to pick up fleas.

We found a few on her, but we treated her and they disappeared. There's also no flea dirt on her anymore.

However, we are still finding bites on her, but only on her belly and underneath her front legs. I'm a bit confused as I would have thought the bites would appear where the fleas are usually 'hanging out', i.e. around her tail and her back? Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? The bites are quite large, and some have a bit of puss in them.

She had these bites a few weeks back, and I took her to the vet then as I hadn't found any fleas on her at all at that point. The vet wasn't sure if it was flea bites. She didn't want to give my dog steroids, as she is only young, but gave her an antibiotic and skin wash. My Goldie's  skin got better, but then we started finding the fleas and I just assumed that that had been the problem in the first place.

Now I'm not entirely sure what to do... Go back to the vet? Or keep cleaning and spraying the house with flea spray and see what happens...?
I would be really grateful for any advice.

Have you treated the house as 80% or 90% of the problem will be in the environment and the flea stuff you have used will not work until after they bite your dog.

The environmental sprays like Acclaim Plus will stop the life cycle of the flea making fleas effectively sterile/eggs/larva won't develop.  The effect lasts 6 or even 12 months with some products.

Do you have a cat, if so have you treated it, as most fleas found on cats and dogs are cat fleas

The bites are quite large, and some have a bit of puss in them.

That to me doesn't sound like flea bites but an allergic reaction to something.

I thought that she could have an allergic reaction to the flea bites? But then I don't understand why she would have those bites just on her belly? When I asked the vet she wasn't very helpful tbh, she said it could be a variety of things, bites, mange allergic reaction etc. But she said the're not too bad so she wouldn't advice on any drastic measures... They did get better with the antibiotics and the skin wash, but now they're back, and with the fleas we've seen on her I'm not sure if I should sit tight and continue to use the household flea spray, or go back to the vet?

She has about 8 bites in total, and she's not too bad with itching...

Are you 100% sure that they are flea bites? I'm covered just now from something that has bitten me that is in the grass. The bites are larger than flea bites, but do they itch! ;-) I do have a cat, so my animals and house are treated regularly (cat hunts and visits a well known 'flea bed' regularly :-( ) One of my dogs is bitten to bits, but no fleas in sight, so I think she has been bitten by the same bugs as me.

No, I'm not 100% sure they are flea bites! The vet wasn't too sure either. But I thought that it would be very strange if my poor dog is bitten by fleas as well as other bugs.... And I'm sure there were fleas on her, as we have actually seen them on her.
But yes, it sounds very similar. Biggish bites, very itchy. Has your dog got them all over or just on belly like mine?

I'm a bit confused as I would have thought the bites would appear where the fleas are usually 'hanging out', i.e. around her tail and her back? Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? The bites are quite large, and some have a bit of puss in them.

Has she been near any overgrown plants, nettles etc. This is what my guess would be rather than fleas, especially with the areas that you mention.

It's funny you should talk about nettles as I have an area that is overgrown with nettles (for the butterflies of course ;-) ) in my garden and my bitch is in there regularly :-)

Actually, her bites are on her belly, but mine are on my arms and, funnily enough, on my left leg, but not my right one My grass is rather long just now as I can't get it all cut in time before the rain starts again. I know they aren't flea bites as my girl is actually allergic to fleas and I know the second she has one. These bites are different.

We don't have long grass or nettles in our garden... but she has been outside on the lawn for quite sometime on Friday - and on Saturday we found the bites on her! They seem to get better slowly but surely, and I haven't found any new ones so far... I used the room spray for fleas so I'm sure now it's not flea bites...

Have you considered Harvest Mites? They are very tiny but give quite a bite and go between the toes, on the tummy & ears - and up human legs too! The like long grass and hang around for 'victims'

I really don't know. It could be. One of her ears is a little red, too. She has nothing between her toes though. How do you treat for harvest mites? When I went to the vet a few weeks back (when she had the same bites) she said that Stronghold should take care of most insects, even mange is treated with that? Or should I take her back to the vets if other treatment is needed for harvest mites?

This could be blow fly attack more comonly known as fly strike. Google it you will get more info. You need to apply a specific spray that is both antiseptic for the wound and insectiside for preventing further attacks. They mainly attack in the hottest months and are repeated attacks from the same flies that have the taste for the blood. Keep the yard and garden clean and disinfect the urine and regulary pick up the poo will also help. Got one spray of ebay I think it was called F10 and another for the body from a online shop. good luck.

>but she has been outside on the lawn for quite sometime on Friday - and on Saturday we found the bites on her!

Ants?

My young golden has very similar to yours...itchy spotty tummy.
Ihave had her anal glands done tonight as sometimes that will cause the spots and itchyness on the tummy area or hind legs.
Just a suggestion...could it be that.

Thanks Goldie - it actually helps knowing that I'm not alone with this problem!!!! My girl had her anal glands done very recently, so I don't think it's that...

Thanks Geordie. I'm not too sure it's fly strike. I looked it up on the internet, and as I understand it fly strike spots should get worse over time, but my girls spots actally got better? But I'll keep an eye on it and if I feel it's getting worse again I'll definately go back to the vets.

If I get bitten by fleas I get blisters when I scratch, so your girl could just be very flea allergic.

Whatever insect it is the flea treatments ought top kill them, so not really work wondering what they were, especially as fleas have been seen, if it look like a flea, acts like a flea it probably is a flea LOL

I certainly woudl not put any more chamicals on the dog sooner than the other is suposed to wear off, far better to treat the environment.

Thanks Brainless. That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm not treating my girl anymore as she has the Stronghold squirt on the neck. But I have bought plenty of carpet flea spray so I'm spraying the whole house with it. Luckily, we haven't got too many carpets, but there are still enough little cracks where the little b*****s can disappear into!!!
However, we were on holiday when she had the fleas on her, and I think the cottage we stayed in had fleas in the carpet that my girl caught. But again, she could have brought some home and I'm not taking a chance!!!!

sounds like a reaction to the grass to me as one of my dogs suffers ..she is worse when there is high pollen I give her piriton from March onwards but have stopped now as the pollen has gone but the grass still causes a rash on her belly .
After the park or playing in the garden (my garden is fenced off so I have control as and when any of my dogs can go on the grass) I give her belly a wash when she is really bad .
Could also be floor cleaners or what ever you clean the dog bedding with , you may have to eliminate things to find the cause.

sounds very similar if not the same as what two of my BCs get during the summer, we have found they are allergic to prickles - we compete in agility and they are quite often in the grass that we camp on and within 24 hours they will both have spots on their bellies down by their back legs.  Look just like acne humans get and tends to clear up in a few days provided they dont come into contact with the prickles anymore.

I have a book called The Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood that is a guide to arometherapy and essential oils .
In it she says  that you should put 1 drop ( 2 for a very large dog ) of lemongrass OR citronella oil in the dollop of shampoo when bathing  to discourage fleas and ticks .
The book is a good read and has tips for allsorts of things - even a cow tonic !